Where the sun always shines

Random notes from southern California paradise …

--Got back from a nice long jog (got lost trying to get across/under the freeway, thus … long) in the neighborhoods of West Covina, where there are seemingly as many DOGS as HUMANS. Wow! I got barked down more times than I remember. Fortunately, all were behind fences that were adorned with ominous “Beware of Dog” signs. Indeed.

--Pretty easy to be a weather forecaster in these parts. Today: Sunny and warm. Tomorrow: Sunny and warmer. Saturday: Sunny and warm. Sunday: Sunny and not quite as warm. You get the idea …

--The simple things in life make us happy, like: FREE BREAKFAST BUFFET. This includes free, unlimited coffee. Oh. Yeah.

--We enjoyed a delicious, albeit expensive, Mexican dinner last night. Authentic Mexican food in California. Nothing better.

--As luck would have it, there is a 24-hour Wal-Mart about five minutes from the hotel, so we did a late-night run there last night for food and supplies.

--Speaking of late night … Will Griffin’s 10,000-meter race goes off at 10:40 p.m. local time. Good for him, as the conditions promise to be nice for long-distance racing. But this jet lag thing is a bit tricky for this old coach, an early riser back in New York. Thus: I woke up today at 2 a.m. local time, which would be the usual 5 a.m. clarion call at home. Ah well … it’s all good. We’ll catch up on sleep next week …

Will post results and details in the wee hours or at some point on Friday.

Chillin in Cali ...

OK! Here we are at the Marriott Courtyard in Baldwin Park, CA, after a long day of travel.

We are out here for the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, CA. Mt. SAC is a meet I have been aware of for many years and we are pleased to be representing Marist Running out here in the California Hills.

We left Poughkeepsie this morning around 9:30 a.m. After the requisite stop at Price Chopper, we had a wet and stressful drive to JFK, checked in and took the endless 6.5-hour flight from JFK to the palm tree-lined Long Beach Airport in California.

It should be noted that this trip was funded in large part -- pretty much 100 percent, actually! -- by the generous donations of Marist Track/XC Alumni. A hearty, hearty THANK YOU and WELL DONE to all of you for your continued support -- now, then, always.

We have the following athletes competing out here:

Women's steeplechase: Brittany Burns

Men's steeplechase: Ken Walshak, Arquimedes DelaCruz

Men's 10,000: Will Griffin

We do miss Matt Flint, who was entered in the men's 5,000 but was scratched due to recent illness issues. Matt is most likely redshirting this outdoor season, but may race unattached at some point soon. Anyway, to Flint ... wish you were here with us, bro!

While we are pleased and thrilled for this opportunity, it is also bittersweet for this old coach as I wish I could be in two places at once in the coming days, as we are hoping for BIG THINGS at the Metro Championships Friday and Saturday at Rutgers.

More updates to come ...

Alumni racing news du jour

Great Marist Alumni racing news out of NYC today ...

On Staten Island, the 13th annual Scott's Race 5K featured the usual strong showing from Marist Alumni runners.

The photo above shows the happy men of the Marist Alumni Racing Team. From left: T-Dix (Tom Dixon), DJ (D.J. Paulson), Walsh (Matt Walsh) and Schab (Schab).

Walsh was the race winner, after a pair of top-3 finishes in recent years. His unofficial winning time -- delivered via text this afternoon -- was 16:15. Good stuff!

For those that are not aware: Scott's Race is held in honor of FDNY hero Scott LaPiedra, the father of Marist Running alum Scotty LaPiedra. Here is a description of the race history, taken right from the race flier:

"On July 4, 1998 Capt. Scott LaPiedra died from injuries sustained at a fifth-alarm fire in the East New York section of Brooklyn. In 1999, as a tribute to Capt. Scott LaPiedra, Scott's race was started and has experienced tremendous success over the past several years. This year's race will support the Thomas Elsasser FDNY Widows and Children's Fund and Staten Island Project Homefront proudly supports our troops. So come join us in celebrating Scott's memory and life with his family, friends and fellow firefighters."

Scotty La has followed in his dad's footsteps and is now a proud FDNY firefighter.

Also on Sunday, a ferry ride away over in Manhattan, Marist Running alums Girma Segni and Mike Rolek were top-10 finishers at the Scotland Run 10K in Central Park.

After years of being lead runner at Marist, Girm was fifth man (fifth man!) on the West Side team that took the top 5 spots and swept the team competition. Girm ran a very strong 30:48, showing he is getting back into fine form after an admittedly rough winter of training.

Meanwhile, Rolek had a solid but unspectacular day in finishing 10th overall in 31:11. Still, finishing 10th overall in a pretty stacked field is a good day's work in my book.

Nicely done, one and all!

Quotable quote about Coach D.J.

Thanks for freshman Billy Hild for giving me a head's up about a really nice Marist Alumni Running mention in today's Poughkeepsie Journal Winter Sports All-Star section -- which, as a side note, was very nicely done by my good friends and former colleagues at Dutchess County's Finest Daily Newspaper.

In the short article about the Journal's Winter Track Coach of the Year, Jim Henry of Beacon, Coach Henry pays homage to one of our own, D.J. Paulson.

Here's what Mr. Henry had to say:

"The biggest addition to our program this season was Coach D.J. Paulson, a recent graduate of Marist. His passion and enthusiasm for track is infectious and his rapport with athletes is outstanding. Mostly due to his efforts, we have an excellent turnout for the track team this spring season."

D.J. ran for us at the beginning of his Marist career. He was a charter class member in my first "Special Topics: Track and Field Coaching" course back in the fall of 2007. And he is the first former Track Coaching class member (to my knowledge) who now actually coaches track.

D.J. was and always will be a part of the Marist Running family, and we remain proud of his accomplishments -- now and in the future.

UMass men's and women's splits

Here are splits for events that have them from Saturday.

We truly enjoyed this meet. Of course, the weather made it very enjoyable. Aside from that, it was a small but competitive meet. It was well organized, quickly run and had race fields that were perfect for our team.

Will we return? I would say it is a strong possibility.

Here you go.

MEN'S SPLITS
800-meter run
7. Matt Panebianco 1:57.59 (first 400m in 58)
8. Chris Vanzetta 1:57.64 (first 400m in 59 … NEG SPLIT!)

1,500-meter run
7. Ben Windisch 4:02.46
63, 2:10 (67), 3:15 (65), 4:02.46 (63.46 last 400m)

18. Andrew James 4:09.25
63, 2:11 (68), 3:20 (69), 4:09.25 (67.25 last 400m)

5,000-meter run

2. Tommy Lipari 15:16.96
70, 2:24 (74), 3:37 (73), 4:51 (74)
6:04 (73), 7:19 (75), 8:34 (75), 9:48 (74)
11:02 (74), 12:16 (74), 13:30 (74), 14:43 (73)
15:16.96 (33.96 last 200m)

3. Zak Smetana 15:23.08
71, 2:24 (73), 3:37 (73), 4:50 (73)
6:04 (74), 7:17 (73), 8:30 (73), 9:43 (73)
10:57 (74), 12:13 (76), 13:30 (77), 14:47 (77)
15:23.08 (36.08 last 200m)

4. Tim Keegan 15:25.97
71, 2:24 (73), 3:38 (74), 4:51 (73)
6:05 (74), 7:19 (74), 8:32 (73), 9:45 (73)
11:00 (75), 12:16 (76), 13:32 (76), 14:49 (77)
15:25.97 (36.97 last 200m)

8. Mike Keegan 15:34.24
71, 2:25 (74), 3:37 (72), 4:50 (73)
6:03 (73), 7:18 (75), 8:33 (75), 9:48 (75)
11:04 (76), 12:22 (78), 13:40 (78), 14:57 (77)
15:34.94 (37.94 last 200m)

10. Nick Webster 15:40.62
69, 2:23 (74), 3:36 (73), 4:50 (74)
6:04 (74), 7:19 (75), 8:34 (75), 9:52 (78)
11:09 (77), 12:27 (78), 13:46 (79), 15:03 (77)
15:40.62 (37.62 last 200m)

11. Mike Clausen 15:48.23
72, 2:26 (74), 3:41 (75), 4:57 (76)
6:14 (77), 7:30 (76), 8:48 (78), 10:05 (77)
11:21 (76), 12:38 (77), 13:56 (78), 15:13 (77)
15:48.23 (35.23 last 200m)

13. Nick Salek 15:52.92
70, 2:23 (73), 3:38 (75), 4:51 (73)
6:06 (75), 7:22 (76), 8:41 (79), 10:00 (79)
11:19 (79), 12:39 (80), 14:00 (81), 15:17 (77)
15:52.92 (35.92 last 200m)

15. Ryan Brown 15:53.46
73, 2:28 (75), 3:42 (74), 4:58 (76)
6:15 (77), 7:32 (77), 8:49 (77), 10:06 (77)
11:24 (78), 12:43 (79), 14:01 (78), 15:18 (78)
15:53.46 (35.46 last 200m)

16. Kevin O’Sullivan 15:56.50
71, 2:23 (72), 3:37 (74), 4:51 (74)
6:04 (73), 7:19 (75), 8:35 (76), 9:53 (78)
11:12 (79), 12:34 (82), 13:55 (81), 15:15 (80)
15:56.50 (39.50 last 200m)

17. Mike Nicoletti 16:00.44
70, 2:23 (73), 3:35 (72), 4:50 (75)
6:05 (75), 7:22 (77), 8:40 (78), 10:00 (80)
11:20 (80), 12:42 (82), 14:03 (81), 15:24 (81)
16:00.44 (36.44 last 200m)

20. Will Schanz 16:11.56
72, 2:26 (74), 3:41 (75), 4:57 (76)
6:14 (77), 7:32 (78), 8:49 (77), 10:08 (79)
11:28 (80), 12:49 (81), 14:11 (82), 15:32 (81)
16:11.56 (39.56 last 200m)

10,000-meter run
3. Isaiah Miller 32:44.15 *USATF Junior Qualifier
72, 2:34 (82), 3:50 (76), 5:08 (78)
6:25 (77), 7:42 (77), 9:01 (79), 10:18 (77)
11:37 (79), 12:55 (78), 14:13 (78), 15:32 (79)
16:51 (79), 18:12 (81), 19:31 (79), 20:51 (80)
22:11 (80), 23:32 (81), 24:54 (82), 26:16 (82)
27:36 (80), 28:59 (83), 30:17 (78), 31:35 (78)
32:44.15 (69.15)
1600-meter splits: 5:08, 5:10, 5:14, 5:19, 5:25, 5:21

4. Nick Hughes 32:45.14
77, 2:35 (78), 3:52 (77), 5:09 (77)
6:26 (77), 7:43 (77), 9:02 (79), 10:19 (77)
11:39 (80), 12:56 (77), 14:15 (79), 15:32 (77)
16:51 (79), 18:12 (81), 19:31 (79), 20:50 (79)
22:11 (81), 23:32 (81), 24:54 (82), 26:16 (82)
27:36 (80), 28:59 (83), 30:17 (78), 31:35 (78)
32:45.14 (70.14)
1600-meter splits: 5:09, 5:10, 5:13, 5:18, 5:26, 5:21

9. Doug Ainscow 34:04.85
79, 2:41 (82), 4:00 (79), 5:19 (79)
6:38 (79), 8:00 (82), 9:20 (80), 10:43 (83)
12:06 (83), 13:29 (83), 14:51 (82), 16:16 (85)
17:37 (81), 18:59 (82), 20:21 (82), 21:44 (83)
23:08 (84), 24:31 (83), 25:53 (82), 27:15 (82)
28:38 (83), 30:01 (83), 31:24 (83), 32:47 (83)
34:04.85 (77.85)
1600-meter splits: 5:19, 5:24, 5:33, 5:28, 5:31, 5:32

11. Billy Hild 34:38.02
73, 2:35 (82), 3:51 (76), 5:09 (78)
6:27 (78), 7:47 (80), 9:11 (84), 10:34 (83)
11:56 (82), 13:20 (84), 14:41 (81), 16:08 (87)
17:32 (84), 18:56 (84), 20:21 (85), 21:45 (84)
23:12 (87), 24:36 (84), 26:03 (87), 27:30 (87)
28:56 (86), -- (missed split), 31:48, 33:14 (86)
34:38.02
1600-meter splits: 5:09, 5:25, 5:34, 5:37, 5:45, 5:44

1,600-meter relay
6. Marist A (Chris Coscio 53.40, Matt Panebianco 52.00, Josh Lopez 51.24, Connor Dodge 52.23) 3:29.07

8. Marist B (Mike Clifford 54.00, Andrew James 53.06, Ben Windisch 52.46, Phil Krupka 51.75) 3:31.66

WOMEN'S SPLITS
800-meter run
8. Briana Crowe 2:19.03 (first 400m in 66.5)
10. Erin O’Reilly 2:25.49 (first 400m in 71)
18. Nicole Weir 2:25.89 (first 400m in 71)
25. Colleen Meenan 2:27.78 (first 400m in 71)
20. Tara Nuccitelli 2:27.86 (first 400m in 71)
34. Rebecca Denise 2:30.50 (first 400m in 72)

1,500-meter run
14. Erin O’Reilly 4:52.01
76, 2:34 (78), 3:52 (78), 4:52.01 (79.01 last 400m)

20. Julie Hudak 5:00.32
77, 2:37 (80), 3:58 (81), 5:00.32 (82.32 last 400m)

25. Rebecca Denise 5:02.30
77, 2:39 (82), 4:01 (82), 5:02.30 (81.30 last 400m)

30. Elizabeth O’Brien 5:11.69
79, 2:43 (84), 4:08 (85), 5:11.69 (83.69 last 400m)

31. Colleen Smith 5:12.33
80, 2:45 (85), 4:11 (86), 5:12.33 (82.33 last 400m)

35. Miy Mahran 5:22.72
81, 2:46 (85), 4:17 (91), 5:22.72 (90.72 last 400m)

36. Allyson O’Brien 5:27.58
80, 2:45 (85), 4:16 (91), 5:27.58 (95.58 last 400m)

5,000-meter run
23. Kelley Gould 19:24.09
89, 2:59 (90), 4:28 (89), 6:01 (93)
7:35 (94), 9:08 (93), 10:44 (96), 12:20 (96)
13:56 (96), 15:31 (95), 17:07 (96), 18:41 (94)
19:24.09 (43.09 last 200m)

28. Rachel Lichtenwalner 20:03.76
94, 3:05 (91), 4:40 (95), 6:17 (97)
7:53 (96), 9:29 (96), 11:07 (98), 12:44 (97)
14:24 (100), 16:03 (99), 17:42 (99), 19:19 (97)
20:03.76 (44.76 last 200m)

31. Ashley Jensen 20:22.31
92, 3:01 (89), 4:32 (91), 6:09 (97)
7:49 (100), 9:29 (100), 11:11 (102), 12:53 (102)
14:35 (102), 16:16 (101), 17:57 (101), 19:36 (99)
20:22.31 (46.31 last 200m)

33. Rachel Bremer 20:37.02
89, 2:59 (90), 4:29 (90), 6:02 (93)
7:38 (96), 9:19 (101), 11:02 (103), 12:47 (105)
14:32 (105), 16:16 (104), 18:01 (105), 19:43 (102)
20:37.02 (54.02 last 200m)

10,000-meter run
1-Addie DiFrancesco 37:21.68 *ECAC Qualifier
85, 2:53 (88), 4:22 (89), 5:50 (88)
7:20 (90), 8:50 (90), 10:21 (91), 11:50 (89)
13:20 (90), 14:48 (88), 16:18 (90), 17:48 (90)
19:18 (90), 20:47 (89), 22:18 (91), 23:48 (90)
25:17 (89), 26:47 (90), 28:18 (91), 29:48 (90)
31:20 (92), 32:51 (91), 34:22 (91), 35:52 (90)
37:21.68 (89.68)
1600-meter splits: 5:50, 6:00, 5:58, 6:00, 6:00, 6:04

1,600-meter relay
7. Marist (Briana Crowe 63.74, Nicole Weir 62.33, Tara Nuccitelli 63.33, Colleen Meenan 63.09) 4:12.66

UMass results, men

Many folks view the 25-lap 10,000-meter run as being about as exciting as watching paint dry. But on Saturday morning at UMass, it was a thrill a minute for freshmen Isaiah Miller and Nick Hughes.

Running in their first 10km on the track, the two teammates and good buddies worked together through much of the race, exchanging the lead in their little two-man pack. With two laps to go, it was determined that they had a shot at a USATF Junior qualifier with a strong finishing kick. Wow! It was close!!

Isaiah dipped under the 32:45.00 standard with his 32:44.15. Nick ran an excruciating 32:45.14, just missing by .14. Both ran great races; I was proud of the effort they displayed. Not to be overlooked, freshman Doug Ainscow ran a monster PR in front of the home crowd (he had plenty of family there) with his 34:04.85. Nicely done!

We had an army in the 5km: Tommy Lipari debuted in fine form, getting second in 15:16.96. Zak Smetana ran a strong third (15:23.08). The early pace was very fast on the unseasonably warm afternoon. Other PRs: freshmen Mike Clausen and Nick Salek, junior Ryan Brown.

Junior sprinter Mike McCloskey had a strong day, placing third in the 100-meter dash in 11.34 seconds, a personal-best time. He also was a member of the third-place 400-meter relay team, which notched a season-best time of 44.32 seconds.

Sophomore Mike Clifford ran a personal-best time of 58.22 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, good for ninth place. It was an awesome race to watch as Cliff navigated the hurdles in near flawless fashion.

Freshman Ben Windisch was seventh in the 1,500-meter run in a personal-best time of 4:02.46. He came back later and ran a solid 4x400 leg.

In all, a good day of running on a great weather day. No complaints at all. The sun shone on the entire program from start to finish at UMass.

Men’s results
100-meter dash
3. Mike McCloskey 11.34
5. Jesse Aprile 11.66

200-meter dash
10. Mike McCloskey 23.71

400-meter dash
17. Chris Coscio 52.73
20. Josh Lopez 53.70

800-meter run
7. Matt Panebianco 1:57.59
8. Chris Vanzetta 1:57.64

1,500-meter run
7. Ben Windisch 4:02.46
18. Andrew James 4:09.25

5,000-meter run
2. Tommy Lipari 15:16.96
3. Zak Smetana 15:23.08
4. Tim Keegan 15:25.97
8. Mike Keegan 15:34.24
10. Nick Webster 15:40.62
11. Mike Clausen 15:48.23
13. Nick Salek 15:52.92
15. Ryan Brown 15:53.46
16. Kevin O’Sullivan 15:56.50
17. Mike Nicoletti 16:00.44
20. Will Schanz 16:11.56

10,000-meter run
3. Isaiah Miller 32:44.15 *USATF Junior Qualifier
4. Nick Hughes 32:45.14
9. Doug Ainscow 34:04.85
11. Billy Hild 34:38.02

110-meter high hurdles
14. Taylor Bombard 17.74

400-meter intermediate hurdles
9. Mike Clifford 58.22

400-meter relay
3. Marist (Jesse Aprile, Mike Clifford, Mike McCloskey, Connor Dodge) 44.32

1,600-meter relay
6. Marist A (Chris Coscio, Matt Panebianco, Josh Lopez, Connor Dodge) 3:29.07
8. Marist B (Mike Clifford, Andrew James, Ben Windisch, Phil Krupka) 3:31.66

Javelin throw
7. Pasquale Magneri 38.91 meters (127 feet, 8 inches)

Hammer throw
15. Sean Ellman 31.63 meters (103 feet, 9 inches)

Long jump
11. Jesse Aprile 5.93 meters (19 feet, 5.5 inches)

Triple jump
5. Jesse Aprile 12.22 meters (40 feet, 1.25 inches)

UMass results, women

A sunny day and warm temperatures in early April … not much to complain about!

Congrats to Addie DiFrancesco for her ECAC qualifying mark of 37:21.68 in the 10,000 meters en route to a wire-to-wire victory. Addie has had a long and winding road of injuries, but she is coming back strong now. Great to see!

There were several other personal-best times in the 1,500 (Erin O’Reilly, Becca Denise, Elizabeth O’Brien, Colleen Smith) and in the 5,000 (Kelley Gould with a big one!).

Overall, a great day and an enjoyable meet for our first time in Amherst. Splits to follow when I can in the coming days …

Women’s results

100-meter dash
13. Amanda Luccarelli 13.15
17. Emelia Lartey 13.52

200-meter dash
23. Emelia Lartey 28.11

400-meter dash
18. Christina Turigiano 1:06.36

800-meter run
8. Briana Crowe 2:19.03
10. Erin O’Reilly 2:25.49
18. Nicole Weir 2:25.89
25. Colleen Meenan 2:27.78
20. Tara Nuccitelli 2:27.86
34. Rebecca Denise 2:30.50

1,500-meter run
14. Erin O’Reilly 4:52.01
20. Julie Hudak 5:00.32
25. Rebecca Denise 5:02.30
30. Elizabeth O’Brien 5:11.69
31. Colleen Smith 5:12.33
35. Miy Mahran 5:22.72
36. Allyson O’Brien 5:27.58

5,000-meter run
23. Kelley Gould 19:24.09
28. Rachel Lichtenwalner 20:03.76
31. Ashley Jensen 20:22.31
33. Rachel Bremer 20:37.02

10,000-meter run
1-Addie DiFrancesco 37:21.68 *ECAC Qualifier

1,600-meter relay
7. Marist (Briana Crowe, Nicole Weir, Tara Nuccitelli, Colleen Meenan) 4:12.66

Javelin throw
7. Rachael Eichacker 32.38 meters (106 feet, 3 inches)

Long jump
17. Shannon Vogel 4.61 meters (15 feet, 1.5 inches)
22. Brooke Kristensen 4.45 meters (14 feet, 7.25 inches)
24. Kristen Vogel 4.42 meters (14 feet, 6 inches)

Triple jump
6. Brooke Kristensen 10.42 meters (34 feet, 2.25 inches)

National academic honors for XC

Please check this release posted on www.goredfoxes.com regarding the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association academic honors for our men's and women's cross country teams.

The release cites our top GPA leaders -- Erin O'Reilly of the women's team (a perfect 4.0!) and Joel Moss of the men's team (a near-perfect 3.93).

Sprinter Dan Conklin has referred to his good pal Joel as a "genius." After a Sunday visit to my house, this "genius" tag is difficult to dispute.

Joel came over and corrected a major networking issue in our home with relative ease -- much to the relief of me, my wife and my entire family.

In fact, I type this post on my laptop from my dining room table, something I am able to do because Joel resurrected our suddenly malfunctioning wireless router.

THANK YOU, JOEL!

And, of course, a hearty NICELY DONE to our student-athletes, who always keep "student" first.

A simple twist of faith

Some final thoughts on fifth-year senior Conor Shelley’s remarkable ICAAAA-qualifying 10km from last Friday night:

All winter, I believe there were exactly two (2) people on God’s Green Earth that still had faith in Conor Shelley’s ability to race fast: Coach Pete (that would be me) and Conor Shelley (that would be him). That’s pretty much it. Otherwise, Conor was Conor – the goofy dude over there that everyone, even freshmen, like to rag on.

As the indoor season progressed and each race fell a little short of the intended mark, my faith was still there – but it was not as strong.

By Friday night’s 10km, I’ll admit that my faith had eroded to the point where I openly wondered whether sophomore Joel Moss (who ran GREAT, by the way!) might give Conor a run for his money over the 25 laps. I knew Conor was in shape, but, well …

Before the race, Conor asked about a race strategy. I shrugged and said to go out at “Rolek pace,’’ which is roughly 73 seconds per lap. As he was walking toward the line, Conor gave me instructions: “No splits tonight, Pete. Just tell me if I’m going too fast or too slow.”

What ensued over the next half hour was a thing of beauty, a race I’ll never forget. Conor committed to running with the leaders at what we thought might be a bit too peppy. He hung on till the end and got himself a nice, fancy PR.

Once he recovers, it’s on with the rest of his final collegiate season. Let’s hope each race can equal that one, because it was a pretty neat 25 laps under the lights.

Something new

Through the years, it seems there are some scheduling things you can count on:

--We’ll go to the Armory and Boston University almost exclusively during the indoor track season.
--We’ll go to Princeton for some excellent outdoor meets.
--We’ll go to Penn Relays each April.
--Outdoor MAACs will be at Rider.

And on and on.

Rarely do we throw a wrinkle into our usual routine.

On Saturday, we are going to a meet that is new to us in the Marist Running Universe. We are going to UMass-Amherst for a small invitational track meet. We’ve never gone here, and we’re looking forward to it. It’s something new and hopefully it will be worth the relatively easy trip to what we hear is a beautiful campus.

Princeton splits from Saturday

Sorry for the delay in posting these.

And thank you to Marist Distance freshman Ryan “Bro” Scrudato for being the Split Dude -- allowing this old coach to keep his hands in his warm pockets on the breezy and chilly day.

800-meter run
30. Andrew James 1:59.72 (opening lap: 59)
31. Matt Panebianco 2:00.28 (opening lap: 60)
49. Kyle Havard 2:07.81 (opening lap: 61). Note: Achilles injury.
51. Nick Hughes 2:10.42 (opening lap: 62)

1,500-meter run
24. Andrew James 4:08.09
65, 2:12 (67), 3:19 (67), 4:08.09 (66.09 last 400m)

27. Matt Panebianco 4:09.23
65, 2:12 (67), 3:18 (66), 4:09.23 (67.23 last 400m)

35. Nick Webster 4:14.99
64, 2:12 (68), 3:21 (69), 4:14.99 (70.99 last 400m)

39. Kyle Havard 4:17.46
65, 2:14 (69), 3:24 (70), 4:17.46 (70.46 last 400m)

41. Nick Hughes 4:20.40
66, 2:16 (70), 3:26 (70), 4:20.40 (71.40 last 400m)

44. Ryan Brown 4:21.88
68.8, 2:18.6 (69.8), 3:29.7 (71.1), 4:21.88 (69.88 last 400m)

1600-meter relay
12. Marist (Coscio 52.20, Vanzetta 52.03, Dodge 53.40, Kristie 55.42) 3:33.44


WOMEN’S SPLITS FROM PRINCETON

800-meter run
18. Jackie Gamboli 2:22.28 (opening lap: 67.5)
20. Briana Crowe 2:23.31 (opening lap: 69)
29. Nicole Weir 2:26.56 (opening lap: 70)
33. Laura Lindsley 2:28.87 (opening lap: 72)
36. Jillian Corley 2:29.72 (opening lap: 70)
38. Julie Hudak 2:33.82 (opening lap: 71)
39. Tara Nuccitelli 2:36.13 (opening lap: 72)

Unseeded 1,500-meter run

15. Jillian Corley 5:03.11
77, 2:36 (79), 4:03 (87), 5:03.11 (83.11 last 400m)

17. Dayna McLaughlin 5:05.34
77, 2:38 (81), 4:02 (85), 5:05.34 (84.34 last 400m)

18. Rebecca Denise 5:05.78
78, 2:37 (79), 4:02 (85), 5:05.78 (83.78 last 400m)

20. Julie Hudak 5:09.34
77, 2:37 (79), 4:03 (86), 5:09.34 (86.34 last 400m)

22. Colleen Smith 5:23.44
79, 2:45 (86), rest of the splits missed, sorry

23. Rachael Peterson 5:39.08
81, 2:55 (94), rest of the splits missed, sorry

3,000-meter run
14. Erin O’Reilly 10:47.80
81, 2:45 (84), 4:10 (85), 5:37 (87), 7:04 (87), 8:39 (85), 10:03 (84), 10:47.80 (44.80 last 200m)

21. Kelley Gould 11:29.13
82, 2:48 (86), 4:18 (90), 5:50 (92), 7:24 (94), 9:02 (98), 10:40 (98), 11:29.13 (49.13 last 200m)

22. Rachel Bremer 11:38.10
83, 2:51 (88), 4:24 (87), 6:00 (86), 7:37 (87), 9:15 (88), 10:51 (86), 11:38.10 (47.10 last 200m)

23. Miy Mahran 11:40.28
83, 2:52 (89), 4:24 (92), 6:01 (97), 7:39 (98), 9:18 (99), 10:55 (97), 11:40.28 (45.28 last 200m)

1600-meter relay
10. Marist (Weir 63.75, Crowe 64.95, Meenan 62.87, Gamboli 60.95) 4:12.78

Princeton/Sam Howell Saturday results

Here are the results from today. Splits and other comments to follow when I can ...

Women's results

100-meter dash
17. Amanda Luccarelli 13.31
23. Meghann Cocca 13.50
25. Emilia Lartey 13.75
26. Kim Ladouceur 14.24

200-meter dash
33. Amanda Luccarelli 28.53
34. Emilia Lartey 28.58
35. Christina Turigiano 28.68
40. Hayley Harnett 40.39

400-meter dash
24. Hayley Harnett 1:01.22
31. Ailish Rowley 1:06.11
32. Tara Nuccitelli 1:06.37
33. Christina Turigiano 1:07.49

800-meter run
18. Jackie Gamboli 2:22.28
20. Briana Crowe 2:23.31
29. Nicole Weir 2:26.56
33. Laura Lindsley 2:28.87
36. Jillian Corley 2:29.72
38. Julie Hudak 2:33.82
39. Tara Nuccitelli 2:36.13

Unseeded 1,500-meter run
15. Jillian Corley 5:03.11
17. Dayna McLaughlin 5:05.34
18. Rebecca Denise 5:05.78
20. Julie Hudak 5:09.34
22. Colleen Smith 5:23.44
23. Rachael Peterson 5:39.08

3,000-meter run
14. Erin O’Reilly 10:47.80
21. Kelley Gould 11:29.13
22. Rachel Bremer 11:38.10
23. Miy Mahran 11:40.28

400-meter relay
8. Marist (Luccarelli, Cocca, Turigiano, Harnett) 51.51

1600-meter relay
10. Marist (Weir, Crowe, Meenan, Gamboli) 4:12.78

Long jump
16. Shannon Vogel 4.60 meters
17. Kristen Vogel 4.49 meters
21. Brooke Kristensen 4.24 meters

Triple jump
15. Shannon Vogel 10.23 meters
18. Kristen Vogel 9.79 meters
19. Brooke Kristensen 9.71 meters

Javelin
14. Rachael Eichacker 26.94 meters

MEN'S RESULTS

100-meter dash
14. Mike McCloskey 11.63
18. Darren Bushey 11.79

200-meter dash
24. Mike McCloskey 23.86
27. Darren Bushey 24.18
30. Taylor Bombard 25.11

400-meter dash
28. Chris Vanzetta 52.13
32. Connor Dodge 53.95
33. Chris Coscio 54.09
34. Dan Conklin 54.84

800-meter run
30. Andrew James 1:59.72
31. Matt Panebianco 2:00.28
49. Kyle Havard 2:07.81
51. Nick Hughes 2:10.42

Unseeded 1,500-meter run
24. Andrew James 4:08.09
27. Matt Panebianco 4:09.23
35. Nick Webster 4:14.99
39. Kyle Havard 4:17.46
41. Nick Hughes 4:20.40
44. Ryan Brown 4:21.88

110-meter hurdles
30. Taylor Bombard 18.44

400-meter hurdles
16. Mike Clifford 59.95

400-meter relay
7. Marist (Bushey, Clifford, McCloskey, Dodge) 44.80

1600-meter relay
12. Marist (Coscio, Vanzetta, Dodge, Kristie) 3:33.44

Javelin
16. Jake Akey 39.17 meters

Princeton/Sam Howell Friday night results

It was a night for fifth-year seniors to shine at the windy and chilly Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University on Friday night, April Fools Day, 2011.

In the women’s steeplechase, Brittany Burns – running in her first steeple in nearly 2 years – came within a fraction of a second of breaking her own school record in a stellar performance. She was just .20 shy of her 2009 SR. Nicely done, Britt!

In the men’s 10,000 race, Conor Shelley proved his AAU Championship 2x3200 at McCann was no fluke and that he is indeed in great shape by notching an IC4A qualifier and beating the coveted Mike Rolek Standard with his eye-popping 30:33.00. For years, he has stated that he wanted to run faster than his old teammate Rolek, who ran 30:36 at this same meet three years ago.

In the same race, sophomore Joel Moss ran a breakthrough performance as well.

And in the men’s steeple, sophomore Quimes DelaCruz ran a personal-best time and just missed the IC4A standard. The wind was really howling during his race.

More details and Saturday results later in the weekend.

MEN'S RESULTS
3,000-meter steeplechase

11. Arquimedes DelaCruz 9:17.36
72, 2:24.4 (72.4), 3:36.5 (72.1), 4:50.9 (74.4), 6:06.0 (75.1), 7:21.9 (75.9), 8:37.8 (75.9), 9:17.36 (39.56)

21. Ken Walshak 9:38.16
77, 2:33 (76), 3:48 (76), 5:05 (77), 6:23 (78), 7:35 (82), 8:57 (82), 9:38.16 (41.16)

25. Nick Webster 9:46.78
77, 2:32 (75), 3:48 (76), 5:07 (79), 6:26 (79), 7:47 (81), 9:06 (79), 9:46.78 (40.78)

1,500-meter run

43. Tom Lipari 4:11.96
65.9, 2:10.1 (64.2), 3:16.2 (66.1), 4:11.96 (73.96 last lap). Ugh.

5,000-meter run

18. Will Griffin 14:48.56
72, 2:21 (69), 3:30 (69), 4:41 (71)
5:50 (69), 6:59 (69), 8:11 (72), 9:23 (72)
10:36 (73), 11:49 (73), 13:02 (73), 14:13 (71)
14:48.56 (35.56)
1600-meter splits: 4:41, 4:42, 4:50

63. Billy Posch 15:19.22
72, 2:24 (72), 3:36 (72), 4:48 (72)
6:01 (73), 7:14 (73), 8:24 (74), 9:44 (76)
11:01 (77), 12:18 (77), 13:34 (76), 14:47 (73)
15:19.22 (32.22)
1600-meter splits: 4:48, 4:56, 5:03

75. Brian Townsend 15:38.79
74, 2:26 (72), 3:38 (72), 4:50 (72)
6:05 (75), 7:21 (76), 8:35 (74), 9:52 (77)
11:10 (78), 12:28 (78), 13:46 (78), 15:02 (76)
15:38.79 (36.79)
1600-meter splits: 4:50, 5:02, 5:10

10,000-meter run

Conor Shelley 30:33.00 *ICAAAA qualifier
76, 2:29 (73), 3:41 (72), 4:55 (74)
6:07 (72), 7:20 (73), 8:33 (73), 9:45 (72)
10:58 (73), 12:10 (72), 13:23 (73), 14:35 (72)
15:47 (72), 17:00 (73), 18:12 (72), 19:24 (72)
20:38 (74), 21:50 (72), 23:05 (75), 24:20 (75)
25:36 (76), 26:50 (74), 28:06 (76), 29:21 (75)
30:33.00 (72.00)
1600-meter splits: 4:55, 4:50, 4:50, 4:49, 4:56, 5:01

Joel Moss 31:37.77
77, 2:31 (74), 3:45 (74), 5:00 (75)
6:13 (73), 7:28 (75), 8:44 (76), 9:58 (74)
11:13 (75), 12:28 (75), 13:43 (75), 14:57 (74)
16:14 (77), 17:30 (76), 18:47 (77), 20:02 (75)
21:20 (78), 22:37 (77), 23:55 (78), 25:14 (79)
26:32 (78), 27:50 (78), 29:07 (77), 30:24 (77)
31:37.77 (73.77)
1600-meter splits: 5:00, 4:58, 4:59, 5:05, 5:12, 5:10

WOMEN'S RESULTS
3,000-meter steeplechase

7. Brittany Burns 10:59.64
81.8, 2:49.7 (87.9), 4:18.8 (89.1), 5:48.1 (89.3), 7:17.7 (89.6), 8:47.9 (90.2), 10:15.4 (87.5), 10:59.65 (44.24)

1,500-meter run
7. Jackie Gamboli 4:47.88
72.5, 2:30.8 (77.3), 3:50.0 (79.2), 4:47.88 (77.88 last lap)

Spring track

Yeah.

Spring track.

We are going to Princeton the next two days for the Sam Howell Invitation. But wait! What’s this “winter storm warning” nonsense? They are calling for around 6 inches of heavy, wet snow here in the beautiful mid-Hudson Valley.

Hopefully, Chuck and I can escape and get south to the Beautiful and Temperate Garden State – where they are only calling for rain.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Enough already!

Smart Man

This morning, I had a brief get-together with an old friend from my days as Players Recreational Sports Editor at Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper.

Ralph Ferrusi writes the hiking column for the Poughkeepsie Journal. He puts his heart and soul into that piece each week, and it shows. He has a loyal following – his old editor being one of them. Ralph needed me to vouch for something on his behalf, and I was more than happy to do it – mostly so I could see my old pal again.

Ralph’s the man I want to be in 30 years (sorry, buddy, but I do think you’ve got close to 30 years on me!). He has written a book and is working on another. He hikes. A lot. The dude did the Appalachian Trail – twice! – and still maintains a healthy chunk of the trail up on Stormville Mountain near where he lives. He rides his bike. He cross country skis. For a short time, years ago before I knew him, he was a pretty fair runner as well – I think he told me he was sub-40:00 for 10km on the roads.

Anyway, Ralph drives a Smart Car, and he is pretty proud of it. OK. I’ll wait. Are you done snickering yet?

Well, let me tell you: The Smart Car is really COOL! Ralph took me on a short spin, and the thing has a lot of room inside and a lot of pep under the hood (well, the engine is in the trunk, but that’s another story).

Anyway, my interactions with guys like Ralph and outdoors columnist Bill Conners are among the things I miss most about being in the daily journalism grind. So it was good to see my old pal, who is truly a SMART MAN.

Sorry. I could not resist.

Geronimo! Skull returns to office

I am very proud to report that the Taconic Road Runners "Geronimo Cup," awarded annually to the Team Champions of Mudders and Grunters -- a mud and guts 5-mile cross country run -- was recaptured by the Marist Alumni Racing Team on Sunday.

Sean Hopkins, who has become a true running force, took the overall title.

Justin Harris, our favorite pro triathlete and still reigning steeplechase school record holder, was second overall.

Medical school student Steve Hicks was an impressive fifth; considering he has been spending so much time in surgery that he barely has time to train, this was a wonderful race for Hicks.

And then there's Matt Walsh. Our better-late-than-never Wantagh Star barely made it to the starting line and completed the scoring.

Adam Ritter was on the race team as well. We see Ritter every day, training hard in McCann.

Also: Great to see Hopkins, Kirk, Hicks, Decker and Walsh late last night. Great job, men!

Here's an email note from team cheerleader Kirk Dornton:

Just wanted to pass along the good news. "Team Sheen: Winning 24/7" (Editor's Note: What does this mean?) took the exalted Geronimo Cup today at the 2011 Mudders and Grunters. Sean Hopkins took 1st place overall with a brilliant time of 30:42. Justin Harris locked in 2nd, Steve Hicks 5th, and Matt Walsh 18th (barely, seeing as he only arrived AT THE RACE two minutes before the gun went off. I am not even exaggerating. He claims to have been driving 110 down the Taconic to get there.) Hopkins promptly laid a big fat kiss upon the skull's bony lips before lofting it above his head and roaring like the head hunting beast that he is. Rest easy Alumni Foxes, the skull is back in good hands. And Pete, make some room on a shelf in your office. Harris will be making a special delivery some time soon.

Kirk

Thanks, Kirkles. Looking forward to The Skull coming back to the McCann Center ...

Caption info, left to right: Ritter, Hopkins, Walsh (with cool shades), Hicks, Harris. Kirkles in the rear.

Monmouth meet: Women's results

Here are the women's results and splits.

Again, thanks for the law offices of Scrudato/Deedy (freshman distance BRO factory) for their fine split taking on the finger-numbing day.

100-meter dash
13. Amanda Luccarelli 13.18
18. Meghann Cocca 13.31
28. Kim Ladouceur 14.15

400-meter dash
19. Ailish Rowley 1:06.48
24. Christina Turigiano 1:08.16

800-meter dash
10. Briana Crowe 2:24.52
72, 72.52

20. Jillian Corley 2:28.69
73, 75.69

28. Julie Hudak 2:31.65
74, 77.65

29. Kelley Hanifin 2:32.13
75, 77.13

33. Laura Lindsley 2:33.93
74, 79.93

40. Tara Nuccitelli 2:36.28
75, 81.28

1,500-meter run
12. Jackie Gamboli 4:54.81
72, 2:31 (79), 3:53 (82), 4:54.81 (82.81 last 400m)

15. Jillian Corley 4:58.99
77, 2:38 (81), 4:00 (82), 4:58.99 (79.99 last 400m)

18. Erin O’Reilly 5:00.63
79, 2:41 (82), 4:03 (82), 5:00.63 (77.63 last 400m)

29. Julie Hudak 5:07.76
78, 2:40 (82), 4:04 (84), 5:07.76 (85.76 last 400m)

33. Dayna McLaughlin 5:10.46
80, 2:43 (83), 4:08 (85), 5:10.46 (84.46 last 400m)

36. Rebecca Denise 5:14.47
80, 2:44 (84), 4:09 (85), 5:14.47 (86.47 last 400m)

38. Elizabeth O’Brien 5:15.79
79, 2:46 (87), 4:13 (87), 5:15.79 (83.79 last 400m)

51. Colleen Smith 5:22.23
82, 2:49 (87), 4:17 (88), 5:22.23 (86.23 last 400m)

53. Allyson O’Brien 5:22.59
83, 2:49 (86), 4:19 (90), 5:22.59 (86.59 last 400m)

55. Kelley Gould 5:23.24
81, 2:47 (86), 4:17 (90), 5:23.24 (90.24 last 400m)

67. Miy Mahran 5:39.90
85, 2:57 (92), 4:33 (96), 5:39.90 (90.90 last 400m)

67. Rachael Peterson 5:39.90
83, 2:57 (94), 4:33 (96), 5:39.90 (90.90 last 400m)

5,000-meter run
3. Addie DiFrancesco 18:16.61
81, 2:49 (88), 4:16 (87), 5:44 (88)
7:15 (91), 8:42 (87), 10:11 (89), 11:38 (87)
13:07 (89), 14:36 (89), 16:05 (89), 17:34 (89)
18:16.61 (42.61)
1600-meter splits: 5:44, 5:54, 5:56

9. Kathryn Sheehan 18:59.57
83, 2:49 (86), 4:17 (88), 5:46 (89)
7:17 (91), 8:48 (91), 10:21 (93), 11:55 (94)
13:31 (96), 15:07 (96), 16:43 (96), 18:18 (95)
18:59.57 (41.57)
1600-meter splits: 5:46, 5:59, 6:03

18. Kelley Gould 19:36.83
90, 3:02 (92), 4:35 (93), 6:09 (94)
7:46 (97), 9:23 (97), 10:59 (96), 12:36 (97)
14:12 (96), 15:47 (95), 17:18 (91), 18:53 (95)
19:36.83 (43.83)
1600-meter splits: 6:09, 6:27, 6:17

21. Rachel Bremer 19:41.83
90, 3:02 (92), 4:34 (92), 6:07 (93)
7:41 (94), 9:16 (95), 10:52 (96), 12:28 (96)
14:03 (95), 15:41 (98), 17:18 (97), 18:53 (95)
19:41.83 (48.83)
1600-meter splits: 6:07, 6:21, 6:25

28. Rachel Lichtenwalner 20:13.23
92, 3:07 (95), 4:42 (95), 6:18 (96)
7:55 (97), 9:32 (97), 11:11 (99), 12:51 (100)
14:31 (100), 16:09 (98), 17:50 (101), 19:27 (97)
20:13.23 (46.23)
1600-meter splits: 6:18, 6:33, 6:36

31. Ashley Jensen 20:22.97
91, 3:04 (93), 4:42 (98), 6:18 (96)
7:59 (101), 9:39 (100), 11:20 (101), 12:59 (99)
14:40 (101), 16:19 (99), 18:00 (101), 19:38 (98)
20:22.97 (44.97)
1600-meter splits: 6:18, 6:41, 6:39

Sprint medley relay
7. Marist (Christina Turigiano, Meghann Cocca, Amanda Luccarelli, Jackie Gamboli) 4:30.91

1,600-meter relay
7. (Nicole Weir, Kelley Hanifin, Tara Nuccitelli, Briana Crowe) Marist 4:19.94

Long jump
9. Brooke Kristensen 4.12

Triple jump
9. Brooke Kristensen 9.97

Monmouth meet: Men's results

In an effort to make these posts a little more readable and less lengthy, I have made the decision (at least for this meet) to do separate posts on men's and women's results. Hope you do not mind. Let me know your thoughts.

In general, this was a very positive first meet. There were several strong performances across the board -- the distance men had the glittering places, but several sprinters ran surprisingly well given the brutal sprinting conditions. This is noteworthy considering we are coming off Spring Break (obviously, everyone did their Home Work) and we are also coming off a stretch of unseasonably cold and wet late winter/early spring weather.

Here are the numbers ...

100-meter dash
11. Mike McCloskey 11.66
13. Darren Bushey 11.89

400-meter dash
20. Chris Vanzetta 52.22
22. Chris Coscio 52.98
40. John Kristie 54.93

1,500-meter run
9. Billy Posch 4:09.66
68, 2:16 (68), 3:21 (65), 4:09.66 (64.66 last 400m)

20. Andrew James 4:15.29
69, 2:19 (70), 3:27 (68), 4:15.29 (65.29 last 400m)

23. Pat Duggan 4:17.68
69, 2:17 (68), 3:24 (67), 4:17.68 (70.68 last 400m)

25. Joel Moss 4:20.47
69, 2:17 (68), 3:28 (71), 4:20.47 (70.47 last 400m)

26. Zak Smetana 4:20.82
67, 2:14 (67), 3:26 (72), 4:20.82 (72.82 last 400m)

36. Isaiah Miller 4:26.75
69, 2:21 (72), 3:33 (72), 4:26.75 (71.75 last 400m)

5,000-meter run
1-Billy Posch 15:17.16
73, 2:28 (75), 3:44 (76), 4:58 (74)
6:13 (75), 7:27 (74), 8:44 (77), 9:57 (73)
11:08 (71), 12:21 (73), 13:35 (74), 14:47 (72)
15:17.16 (30.16)
1600-meter splits: 4:58, 4:59, 4:50

6. Mike Keegan 15:30.66
75, 2:30 (75), 3:45 (75), 4:59 (74)
6:14 (75), 7:27 (73), 8:44 (77), 9:56 (72)
11:09 (73), 12:25 (76), 13:41 (76), 14:57 (76)
15:30.66 (33.66)
1600-meter splits: 4:59, 4:57, 5:01

8. Patrick Duggan 15:37.39
74, 2:28 (74), 3:44 (76), 4:58 (74)
6:13 (75), 7:27 (74), 8:44 (77), 9:57 (73)
11:12 (75), 12:29 (77), 13:46 (77), 15:01 (75)
15:37.39 (36.39)
1600-meter splits: 4:58, 4:59, 5:04

13. Zak Smetana 15:55.27
76, 2:32 (76), 3:48 (76), 5:05 (77)
6:21 (76), 7:37 (76), 8:55 (78), 10:13 (78)
11:30 (77), 12:48 (78), 14:05 (77), 15:21 (76)
15:55.27 (34.27)
1600-meter splits: 5:05, 5:08, 5:08

15. Isaiah Miller 16:02.30
75, 2:30 (75), 3:45 (75), 5:01 (76)
6:20 (79), 7:37 (77), 8:55 (78), 10:15 (80)
11:34 (79), 12:54 (80), 14:12 (78), 15:28 (76)
16:02.30 (34.30)
1600-meter splits: 5:01, 5:14, 5:13

10,000-meter run
1-Mike Nicoletti 32.31.90
79, 2:38 (79), 3:59 (81), 5:16 (77)
6:34 (78), 7:53 (79), 9:10 (77), 10:28 (78)
11:46 (78), 13:03 (77), 14:21 (78), 15:40 (79)
16:58 (78), 18:16 (78), 19:33 (77), 20:52 (79)
22:11 (79), 23:28 (77), 24:46 (78), 26:05 (79)
27:22 (77), 28:42 (80), 30:01 (79), 31:18 (77)
32:31.90 (73.90)
1600-meter splits: 5:16, 5:12, 5:12, 5:12, 5:13, 5:13

2-Kevin O’Sullivan 32:54.73
79, 2:38 (79), 3:59 (81), 5:16 (77)
6:34 (78), 7:53 (79), 9:10 (77), 10:28 (78)
11:46 (78), 13:03 (77), 14:21 (78), 15:40 (79)
16:58 (78), 18:16 (78), 19:34 (78), 20:55 (81)
22:15 (80), 23:36 (81), 24:54 (78), 26:15 (81)
27:35 (80), 28:56 (81), 30:16 (80), 31:37 (81)
32:54.73 (77.73)
1600-meter splits: 5:16, 5:12, 5:12, 5:15, 5:20, 5:22

3-Nick Salek 32:59.18
79, 2:38 (79), 3:59 (81), 5:16 (77)
6:34 (78), 7:53 (79), 9:10 (77), 10:28 (78)
11:46 (78), 13:03 (77), 14:21 (78), 15:40 (79)
16:58 (78), 18:16 (78), 19:34 (78), 20:56 (82)
22:17 (81), 23:37 (80), 24:57 (80), 26:17 (80)
27:38 (81), 29:01 (83), 30:22 (81), 31:43 (81)
32:59.18 (76.18)
1600-meter splits: 5:16, 5:12, 5:12, 5:16, 5:21, 5:26

7. Billy Hild 33:55.97
79, 2:41 (82), 4:02 (81), 5:24 (82)
6:42 (78), 8:04 (82), 9:15 (81), 10:46 (81)
12:08 (82), 13:29 (81), 14:50 (81), 16:11 (81)
17:33 (82), 18:54 (81), 20:15 (81), 21:35 (80)
22:57 (82), 24:18 (81), 25:40 (82), 27:03 (83)
28:25 (82), 29:49 (84), 31:11 (82), 32:34 (83)
33:55.97 (81.97)
1600-meter splits: 5:24, 5:22, 5:25, 5:24, 5:28, 5:31

9. Will Schanz 34:24.01
79, 2:41 (82), 4:02 (81), 5:24 (82)
6:42 (78), 8:04 (82), 9:15 (81), 10:46 (81)
12:08 (82), 13:29 (81), 14:50 (81), 16:11 (81)
17:33 (82), 18:54 (81),20:17 (83), 21:42 (85)
23:07 (85), 24:31 (84), 25:56 (85), 27:22 (86)
28:48 (86), 30:14 (86), 31:38 (84), 33:02 (84)
34:24.01 (82.01)
1600-meter splits: 5:24, 5:22, 5:25, 5:31, 5:40, 5:40

11. Doug Ainscow 34:46.57
82, 2:43 (81), 4:06 (83), 5:28 (82)
6:51 (83), 8:13 (82), 9:37 (84), 11:00 (83)
12:23 (83), 13:47 (84), 15:10 (83), 16:34 (84)
17:58 (84), 19:22 (84), 20:46 (84), 22:10 (84)
23:34 (84), 24:57 (83), 26:22 (85), 27:46 (84)
29:11 (85), 30:36 (85), 32:02 (86), 33:26 (85)
34:46.57 (80.57)
1600-meter splits: 5:28, 5:32, 5:34, 5:36, 5:36, 5:40

15. Brendan Green 36:09.19
85, 2:51 (86), 4:18 (86), 5:43 (85)
7:11 (88), 8:37 (86), 10:03 (86), 11:29 (86)
12:55 (86), 14:21 (86), 15:48 (87), 17:16 (88)
18:43 (87), 20:10 (87), 21:37 (87), 23:05 (88)
24:31 (86), 25:58 (87), 27:27 (89), 28:56 (89)
30:26 (90), 31:56 (90), 33:23 (87), 32:50 (87)
36:09.19 (79.19)
1600-meter splits: 5:43, 5:46, 5:47, 5:49, 5:51, 5:54

400-meter hurdles
18. Mike Clifford 1:01.11

3,000-meter steeplechase
4. Nick Hughes 10:13.76
75, 2:34 (79), 3:54 (80), 5:16 (82), 6:39 (83), 8:04 (85), 9:29 (85), 10:13.76 (44.76)

400-meter relay
4. Marist (Jesse Aprile, Darren Bushey, Mike McCloskey, Connor Dodge) 45.17

Sprint medley relay
7. Marist (Mike McCloskey 24.6, Jesse Aprile 22.4, Connor Dodge 52.8, Andrew James 2:02.6) 3:42.58

1,600-meter relay
11. Marist (John Kristie 56.3, Chris Coscio 52.7, Chris Vanzetta 51.9, Mike Clifford 52.5) 3:33.47

Long jump
12. Jesse Aprile 5.95

Triple jump
10. Jesse Aprile 11.88

Javelin
20. Jake Akey 39.83

Kellenberg grads shine at Monmouth

Looooooooong day (and cold!) at Monmouth ... 5:30 a.m. departure, 9:30 p.m. arrival, followed by meeting Marist Running alums for a cup of late night coffee before they run Mudders and Grunters later this morning.

A quick search of the Internets has not located complete results for today's meet, which is OK since I am in desperate need of sleep.

Very quick highlights from today: It was a good day to be a Marist sophomore distance runner who graduated from Kellenberg Memorial High School in 2009.

--In the day's first event, Mike Nicoletti won the Arctic 10,000-meter run in a personal-best time of 32:31.90.

--In the day's almost last event, Billy Posch won the Equally Arctic 5,000-meter run in a remarkable time of 15:17.16. It is remarkable in that it was about a 40-second PR for Billy, and it came several hours AFTER he ran the 1,500 in around 4:09. Wowsers!

There were several other chilly highlights on the day. I will post complete results and splits when I can (may not be till Monday, be patient, please).

Thanks to Split Taking Bros Scrudato and Deedy for allowing this old man to keep his gloved hands inside his pockets all day. Did I mention it was Arctic out there today?

Fine whine

I’ve spent my fair of time shivering in the cold over the past 20 years as a track coach. Saturday at Monmouth promises to be another doozy of a cold-weather day with the forecast high a balmy 38, no doubt with a stiff breeze.

But my cold-weather practice and meet misery pales in comparison to Terry Horton, our fine assistant coach and longtime legendary coach at nearby Arlington High School.

Athletes and others that think I’m “old school” when I make reference to long-ago meets that I was coaching at in the early 1990s (when most of you on the team were BORN) should talk to Terry. He was “old school” before I was “new school.” Whatever that means. Bottom line: Terry has more than 40 years of track coaching and track officiating experience. That translates into literally hundreds of days out in fairly miserable weather.

Yesterday out at Vassar, as my outer extremities slowly began to lose feeling and our athletes were warming up in preparation for their workouts, Terry was regaling me with stories of winter track practices and meets – YES, MEETS! – in the parking lot of Arlington High School. Early in my reporting days at Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper, I vaguely recall a parking lot track meet locally called the “Polar Bear Relays.” Nice.

Terry was telling me about a long ago Coaches and Officials Meet in the Arlington parking lot. It was so cold, snowy and icy that Terry was out there shoveling snow and chopping ice along the “track” to keep the meet moving along. The “coaches and officials”? Terry said it was all he could do to keep them outside to get the meet moving along. As I most certainly would have back then (and now), those coaches and officials were often scurrying inside for warmth and probably a hot cup of coffee.

So, no matter how cold and miserable I complain about being, it’s heartening (sort of) to know that Terry has been cold and miserable in bad weather twice as long as I have. And probably complaining about it half as much as I do.

See you in the snow …

SNOW problem

Today’s practice at the Vassar College track was excellent and spirited.

NICELY DONE to all the men and women, sprinters, mid distance and distance runners, for a great effort in less-than-great conditions.

OK. As warned, here comes the first spring weather rant of the season. First of many, I might add.

Unless your name is “Billy Hild” and you actually revel in cold and damp and snow, today was not a fun day to be outside for any length of time.

It was cold. It was damp. It was snowing. The turf was covered in snow. My hands and feet lost feeling. I went to the bathroom midway through the workout – not so much because I had to go, but more to use the hot air hand dryer to get some feeling back in my digits. It worked, for about 5 minutes.

Due to a “scheduling conflict,” our fancy McCann Indoor Track was not available as anticipated. No problemo, dudes. Pull the vans around, load up the cars, and go to Vassar. Just like we do every Wednesday in the spring.

We’re track. We’re tough.

Indeed we were today. One thing that made today more manageable was the conspicuous lack of wind. It’s ALWAYS windy at whatever track we go to – Vassar, Spackenkill, Arlington, you name it -- this time of year. Especially Arlington. Always. Today, the wind was light. Good thing, since it was 34 degrees with frozen precipitation pelting away at us.

Again, great effort from everyone. The ladies, especially, were out there FOREVER. Coach Chuck planned a particularly dastardly – and long – workout. It seemed to go on and on and on, but they were fast and strong to the end.

We had the entire spectrum: Distance boys doing 8x1k thresh and sprinters practicing 4x100 handoffs.

In the snow. In the cold.

Marist Track. We are tough. We DO WORK in any conditions.

Outdoor track schedule, 2011

For friends and family of Marist Track, here is our outdoor track schedule for this coming weeks/months.

Although this schedule looks lengthy, the reality of it is that the outdoor season is over in the blink of an eye for the majority of the team.

Fair warning: There could be a decent amount of complaining about the volatile spring weather on this blog in the coming days/weeks/months.

If you have questions about specific meet schedules, times, etc. ... email or call me.

Saturday, March 26: Monmouth Season Opener, West Long Branch, NJ

Friday, April 1: Sam Howell Invitation Day 1, Princeton, NJ (limited distance entrants)
Saturday, April 2: Sam Howell Invitation Day 2, Princeton, NJ

Saturday, April 9: UMass Invitational, Amherst, MA

Thursday, April 14: Mount SAC Invitational, Walnut, CA (limited to qualifiers)
Friday, April 15: Mount SAC Invitational, Walnut, CA (limited to qualifiers)

Friday, April 15: Metropolitan Championships Day 1, Rutgers University
Saturday, April 16: Metropolitan Championships Day 2, Rutgers University

Friday, April 22: Larry Ellis Invitational, Princeton, NJ (limited distance entrants)

Thursday, April 28: Penn Relays, Philadelphia, TBA (distance entrants only)
Friday, April 29: Penn Relays, Philadelphia, TBA (limited relay entrants)
Saturday, April 30: Penn Relays, Philadelphia, TBA (limited relay entrants)

Sunday, May 1: Yale Springtime Invitational, New Haven, CT

Friday, May 6: Matthew Vassar Open, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 7: MAAC Championships Day 1, Rider University
Sunday, May 8: MAAC Championships Day 2, Rider University

Postseason championships (qualifiers only)
Friday/Sunday, May 13-15: IC4A/ECAC Championships/Princeton, NJ
Friday/Sunday, May 27-29: NCAA East Regional/Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
June 8-11: NCAA Championships/Drake University, Des Moines, IA
June 23-26: USATF Championships/University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Rolek: 1:06:51!

Major, major kudos go out tonight to Mike Rolek (Class of 2008) for his sizzling, smokin’ performance at Sunday morning’s New York City Half Marathon.

Rolek ran a major breakthrough personal-best time of 1:06:51, an average of 5:07 per mile for 13.1 miles. He finished 35th overall and ninth in his age group and definitely validated his elite bib number with a representative performance.

A hearty NICELY DONE to our guy, who – it is believed, anyway – now holds the Marist Alumni records in the marathon and the half marathon.

For your numbers geeks out there, here are some stats to check out. First, courtesy of the official results on the NYRR Web site:

5km: 15:55; 10km: 32:00 (16:05); 15km: 47:48 (15:48); 20km: 1:03:27 (15:39); 13.1: 1:06:51. Most definitely a neg split effort!

And these mile splits from Rolek’s watch: 5:09, 4:55, 5:14, 5:15, 5:05, 5:12, 5:03, 5:07, 4:33 (short), 5:39 (long), 5:04, 4:56, 0:32 (for the .1, blazing!)

Hey, no matter how you slice it and dice it, it was a great, great race.

Also: While doing a very quick search of the results, the following loyal Marist Running alums signed up as MAAL (Marist Alumni Racing Team), bless your hearts! …

Joe Tarantello, Rolek’s good buddy and classmate: 1:20:10
Todd Bivona, the erstwhile sprinter now turned distance runner: 1:44:01

Good stuff.

Spring break

This week is Spring Break, which may explain the relative lack of posts the several days.

The past few days have been a trip down memory lane for me, as I have been spending a lot of weekday morning time at home and around town with a preschool child – my youngest son James.

Back in the days when I was working full-time at Dutchess County’s Finest Daily Newspaper, most of my mornings were spent as Daddy to my then-preschool age kids -- Joey and Natalie. Then, when my wife Heidi would come home from her work, it would be tag-team parenting time, and I’d be off to the newspaper and/or Marist, usually shuttling between both jobs and wearing a groove into Washington Street in Poughkeepsie – the road that connects both fine facilities.

This week, James has Spring Break from his preschool program and we have Spring Break at Marist. But the rest of the world keeps on keeping on … Heidi’s working, other kids in school … so here I am, back at home, hangin’ with a rambunctious 5-year-old who likes SpongeBob and the Power Rangers (Note to Conor Shelley, James’ favorite punching bag: If you are reading this – wait, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, you are not reading anything – James is learning some new moves to use on you from the Power Rangers Samurais. You are in trouble!).

My days of working late into the night at the newspaper are over, and my kids are growing up fast. So this Daddy During The Regular Weekday routine is more of a one-week nostalgia trip, although the late-spring and summertime should offer a reprise to this fun madness.

For now, with the weather forecast looking sweet for the next two days, I’ll hang at home with Junior and start working on his T-Ball game. Next week, it’s back to the usual grind – practice, recruiting, meets … and of course complaining about the cold, since we practice outside every day starting on Monday.

See you then.

Indoor track performance list, women

60-meter dash
Meghann Cocca 8.21* MAAC
Amanda Luccarelli 8.34* MAAC
Meghann Cocca 8.42 BU2
Amanda Luccarelli 8.42 Yale
Amanda Luccarelli 8.44 Mets
Amanda Luccarelli 8.49 GBTC
Amanda Luccarelli 8.49 NYU2
Meghann Cocca 8.56 Mets
Meghann Cocca 8.58 NYU2
Meghann Cocca 8.60 NYU1
Kim Ladouceur 8.60* MAAC
Meghann Cocca 8.64 GBTC
Kim Ladouceur 8.65 Mets
Kim Ladouceur 8.66 BU2
Meghann Cocca 8.66 Yale
Amanda Luccarelli 8.74 Yale

200-meter dash
Hayley Harnett 26.70 BU2
Hayley Harnett 26.75 BU1
Amanda Luccarelli 27.55 BU2
Meghann Cocca 27.40 MAAC
Meghann Cocca 27.62 BU2
Kim Ladouceur 27.81 BU2
Amanda Luccarelli 27.92 Mets
Christina Turigiano 28.01 BU2
Meghann Cocca 28.14 Mets
Kim Ladouceur 28.14 MAAC
Christina Turigiano 28.15 MAAC
Christina Turigiano 28.50 Yale
Amanda Luccarelli 28.51 Yale
Meghann Cocca 28.60 Yale
Christina Turigiano 28.69 NYU1
Amanda Luccarelli 28.79 NYU1
Ailish Rowley 29.19 GBTC
Ailish Rowley 29.39 Mets
Rachael Eichacker 29.73 GBTC

400-meter dash
Hayley Harnett 60.83 MAAC
Jackie Gamboli 61.10 BU1
Hayley Harnett 61.85 GBTC
Hayley Harnett 61.88 NYU2
Amanda Luccarelli 62.69 BU2
Tara Nuccitelli 62.88 MAAC
Hayley Harnett 62.89 Yale
Kelley Hanifin 63.40 Mets
Colleen Meenan 63.54 NYU1
Colleen Meenan 63.57 GBTC
Christina Turigiano 63.81 MAAC
Kelley Hanifin 63.94 GBTC
Tara Nuccitelli 64.16 BU2
Nicole Weir 64.21 GBTC
Christina Turigiano 64.24 Mets
Ailish Rowley 64.33 BU2
Christina Turigiano 64.62 GBTC
Ailish Rowley 64.63 GBTC
Nicole Weir 64.75 NYU2
Briana Crowe 65.44 GBTC
Christina Turigiano 65.97 NYU2
Rachael Eichacker 67.95 MAAC
Nicole Weir 69.17 Mets

500-meter dash
Nicole Weir 1:23.42 NYU1
Colleen Meenan 1:23.97 NYU2
Nicole Weir 1:24.69 Yale
Ailish Rowley 1:24.76 Mets
Kelley Hanifin 1:24.70 NYU2
Ailish Rowley 1:25.25 NYU2
Ailish Rowley 1:26.46 Yale

800-meter run
Jackie Gamboli 2:16.60 MAAC
Jackie Gamboli 2:18.61 Yale
Briana Crowe 2:19.27 BU2
Briana Crowe 2:20.50 BU1
Briana Crowe 2:20.68 MAAC
Jackie Gamboli 2:22.75 NYU2
Nicole Weir 2:22.77 MAAC
Jackie Gamboli 2:23.43 NYU1
Nicole Weir 2:23.65 BU2
Briana Crowe 2:23.87 NYU2
Briana Crowe 2:24.66 GBTC
Briana Crowe 2:25.06 NYU1
Julie Hudak 2:25.32 NYU2
Colleen Meenan 2:25.71 MAAC
Colleen Meenan 2:26.05 BU2
Kelley Hanifin 2:26.08 BU2
Laura Lindsley 2:27.48 BU2
Jillian Corley 2:27.58 ARM
Jillian Corley 2:27.74 BU2
Julie Hudak 2:28.46 BU2
Laura Lindsley 2:28.54 MAAC
Laura Lindsley 2:29.65 Mets
Tara Nuccitelli 2:30.31 BU2
Julie Hudak 2:31.06 GBTC
Tara Nuccitelli 2:32.47 Mets
Tara Nuccitelli 2:33.87 GBTC
Jillian Corley 2:34.49 NYU1
Laura Lindsley 2:34.67 GBTC
Rachael Peterson 2:34.74 GBTC
Rachael Peterson 2:37.53 Yale

1,000-meter run
Julie Hudak 3:08.32 BU2
Jillian Corley 3:09.15 BU1
Rachael Peterson 3:20.14 Mets
Rachael Peterson 3:22.18 BU2
Rachael Peterson 3:23.73 NYU1
Colleen Smith 3:24.55 Mets
Rachael Peterson 3:27.86 NYU2
Tara Nuccitelli 3:28.64 NYU2

Mile run
Brittany Burns 5:00.64$ MAAC
Brittany Burns 5:04.30 BU1
Jackie Gamboli 5:12.49 BU2
Jackie Gamboli 5:14.21 GBTC
Kathryn Sheehan 5:18.95 GBTC
Kathryn Sheehan 5:20.65 NYU2
Erin O’Reilly 5:21.25 BU1
Jillian Corley 5:22.89 ARM
Erin O’Reilly 5:22.93 GBTC
Julie Hudak 5:23.15 BU1
Jillian Corley 5:24.38 BU2
Erin O’Reilly 5:25.10 NYU2
Jillian Corley 5:25.72 BU1
Dayna McLaughlin 5:25.77 BU2
Erin O’Reilly 5:25.95 NYU1
Julie Hudak 5:26.63 GBTC
Dayna McLaughlin 5:28.20 MAAC
Dayna McLaughlin 5:28.21 Mets
Dayna McLaughlin 5:29.35 GBTC
Kathryn Sheehan 5:30.75 NYU1
Jillian Corley 5:31.68 NYU2
Jillian Corley 5:33.62 MAAC
Allyson O’Brien 5:39.38 MAAC
Allyson O’Brien 5:42.37 BU2
Dayna McLaughlin 5:42.68 NYU1
Allyson O’Brien 5:43.79 Mets
Kelley Gould 5:48.28 GBTC
Allyson O’Brien 5:49.07 GBTC
Colleen Smith 5:57.15 MAAC
Colleen Smith 5:57.63 BU2
Colleen Smith 6:02.91 GBTC

3,000-meter run
Brittany Burns 10:04.30 BU2
Brittany Burns 10:13.67 NYU2
Brittany Burns 10:15.00 Yale
Kiersten Anderson 10:19.73 Yale
Kiersten Anderson 10:19.93 BU1
Kiersten Anderson 10:22.66 ARM
Erin O’Reilly 10:36.02 BU2
Katie Messina 10:37.30 BU1
Kiersten Anderson 10:39.93 BU2
Katie Messina 10:41.02 GBTC
Erin O’Reilly 10:44.31 MAAC
Elizabeth O’Brien 11:16.40 MAAC
Elizabeth O’Brien 11:31.06 Mets
Rachel Bremer 11:31.19 MAAC
Elizabeth O’Brien 11:34.15 GBTC
Miy Mahran 11:37.65 Mets
Rachel Bremer 11:40.19 Mets
Rachel Bremer 11:44.54 GBTC
Miy Mahran 11:48.79 GBTC
Miy Mahran 12:07.77 NYU1
Rachel Lichtenwalner 12:16.81 GBTC
Rachel Bremer 12:22.64 NYU2

5,000-meter run
Kiersten Anderson 18:06.15 MAAC
Kathryn Sheehan 18:54.11 MAAC
Rachel Lichtenwalner 20:37.77 MAAC

4x400 relay
Marist A 4:06.44 MAAC
Marist A 4:08.83 NYU2
Marist A 4:13.05 Yale
Marist A 4:13.95 NYU1
Marist A 4:17.83 Mets

4x440-yard relay
Marist A 4:15.57 GBTC

4x800 relay
Marist A 10:20.49 NYU2

DMR
Marist A 11:54.75$ ECAC
Marist A 12:15.29 NB
Marist A 12:20.04 BU1
Marist A 12:35.03 MAAC
Marist A 12:56.77 NYU2
Marist A 13:08.87 NYU1

4x220-yard relay
Marist A 1:54.23 GBTC

Long jump
Kristen Vogel 4.81m Yale
Kristen Vogel 4.81m GBTC
Shannon Vogel 4.66m NYU2
Brooke Kristensen 4.61m NYU2
Kristen Vogel 4.58m MAAC
Kristen Vogel 4.56m NYU1
Kristen Vogel 4.55m NYU2
Shannon Vogel 4.52m Mets
Brooke Kristensen 4.51m MAAC
Shannon Vogel 4.46m MAAC
Shannon Vogel 4.45m GBTC
Brooke Kristensen 4.41m Mets
Shannon Vogel 4.37m Yale
Shannon Vogel 4.36m BU2
Brooke Kristensen 4.33m GBTC
Kristen Vogel 4.06m Mets
Kristen Vogel 3.94m BU2
Shannon Vogel 3.92m NYU1

Triple jump
Brooke Kristensen 10.69m$ MAAC
Kristen Vogel 10.29m MAAC
Brooke Kristensen 10.16m Mets
Kristen Vogel 10.13m GBTC
Shannon Vogel 10.07m GBTC
Shannon Vogel 10.07m BU2
Brooke Kristensen 10.00m GBTC
Kristen Vogel 9.96m Yale
Shannon Vogel 9.87m MAAC
Kristen Vogel 9.78m NYU2
Brooke Kristensen 9.78m NYU2
Kristen Vogel 9.75m Mets
Kristen Vogel 9.71m NYU1
Shannon Vogel 9.68m Yale
Shannon Vogel 9.60m NYU1
Kristen Vogel 9.58m BU2
Shannon Vogel 9.45m Mets
Shannon Vogel 9.32m NYU2

Pole vault
Colette Cunningham 2.55m NYU1
Colette Cunningham 2.55m MAAC
Colette Cunningham 2.50m NYU2
Colette Cunningham 2.45m Mets

$=school record
* Converted mark

Meet name/date
YALE = 12.4.2010
NYU1 = 1.7.2011
NYU2 = 1.14.2011
GBTC = 1.23.2011
BU1 = 1.29.2011
Mets = 1.29.2011
NB = 2.4.2011 and 2.5.2011
BU2 = 2.12.2011
MAAC = 2.18.2011
ARM = 2.25.2011
ECAC = 3.6.2011

Indoor track performance list, men

60-meter dash
Mike McCloskey 7.25* MAAC
Darren Bushey 7.27* MAAC
Mike McCloskey 7.31 Yale
Mike McCloskey 7.41 NYU1
Mike McCloskey 7.43 BU2
Darren Bushey 7.43 Yale
Mike McCloskey 7.45 BU1
Darren Bushey 7.46 BU2
Mike McCloskey 7.48 NYU2
Jesse Aprile 7.48 BU1
Darren Bushey 7.52 NYU1
Darren Bushey 7.53 BU1
Darren Bushey 7.53 NYU2
Brian Lochner 7.65* MAAC
Neal Viets 7.69* MAAC
Neal Viets 7.87 NYU1
Neal Viets 7.93 Yale
Neal Viets 7.93 Mets
Neal Viets 7.96 NYU2
Brian Lochner 8.06 Yale

200-meter dash
Jesse Aprile 23.20 BU2
Mike McCloskey 23.44 BU1
Mike McCloskey 23.50 BU2
Mike Clifford 23.52 BU2
Mike McCloskey 23.53 MAAC
Darren Bushey 23.54 MAAC
Mike Clifford 23.82 Mets
Mike McCloskey 23.87 Yale
Mike McCloskey 24.00 NYU1
Darren Bushey 24.00 BU2
Connor Dodge 24.10 BU2
Mike Clifford 24.12 Yale
Darren Bushey 24.23 Yale
Taylor Bombard 24.34 BU1
Mike Clifford 24.35 NYU1
Darren Bushey 24.46 BU1
Taylor Bombard 24.62 BU2
Neal Viets 24.89 Yale
Neal Viets 24.90 Mets
Neal Viets 24.98 MAAC
Taylor Bombard 25.07 Yale
Brian Lochner 25.09 MAAC

400-meter dash
Phil Krupka 51.62 MAAC
John Kristie 52.33 BU2
Chris Vanzetta 52.40 BU2
John Kristie 52.43 BU1
John Kristie 52.96 Yale
Chris Coscio 53.01 BU2
Connor Dodge 53.06 Yale
Mike Clifford 53.18 BU2
Chris Coscio 53.21 Yale
Chris Coscio 53.50 NYU1
Dan Conklin 53.52 Yale
John Kristie 53.55 NYU1
John Kristie 53.56 NYU2
Chris Coscio 53.81 BU1
Mike Clifford 53.90 Mets
Chris Coscio 54.10 NYU2
Mike Clifford 54.31 NYU2
Alex Cuesta 56.53 MAAC

500-meter dash
Phil Krupka 1:07.06 BU2
Phil Krupka 1:08.30 BU1
Chris Vanzetta 1:08.65 BU1
Josh Lopez 1:09.27 Yale
Josh Lopez 1:09.90 BU1
Josh Lopez 1:10.10 NYU1
Connor Dodge 1:10.49 NYU1

800-meter run
Matt Panebianco 1:57.13 NB
Will Griffin 1:57.67 NYU2
Matt Panebianco 1:57.75 MAAC
Matt Panebianco 1:58.19 NYU2
Matt Flint 1:58.32 NYU1
Andrew James 1:58.54 ARM
Tom Lipari 1:59.20 MAAC
Andrew James 1:59.46 BU2
Andrew James 1:59.74 BU1
Isaiah Miller 2:00.74 Yale
Andrew James 2:00.83 MAAC
Conor Shelley 2:02.03 Yale
Andrew James 2:04.77 Yale
Andrew James 2:07.36 NYU1
Isaiah Miller 2:10.17 MAAC
Alex Cuesta 2:10.56 NYU1

1,000-meter run
Matt Panebianco 2:30.83 BU1
Ben Windisch 2:31.01 ARM
Tom Lipari 2:31.71 BU1
Matt Panebianco 2:32.10 ARM
Kyle Havard 2:35.27 BU2
Isaiah Miller 2:45.56 NYU2

Mile run
Will Griffin 4:10.11# MAAC
Arquimedes DelaCruz 4:13.20# ARM
Matt Flint 4:14.55# MAAC
Billy Posch 4:20.75 BU2
Billy Posch 4:21.27 ARM
Billy Posch 4:22.06 BU1
Arquimedes DelaCruz 4:25.19 NYU2
Billy Posch 4:25.88 NYU2
Conor Shelley 4:26.48 Yale
Ben Windisch 4:26.79 BU1
Nick Salek 4:29.19 BU1
Ben Windisch 4:31.24 BU2
Pat Duggan 4:31.63 NYU1
Billy Posch 4:33.36 NYU1
Nick Salek 4:34.18 MAAC
Nick Salek 4:34.45 BU2
Kyle Havard 4:34.89 NYU1
Chris Reynolds 4:36.24 Mile
Chris Reynolds 4:40.78 NYU2
Isaiah Miller 4:56.15 MAAC

3,000-meter run
Matt Flint 8:17.21# BU1
Will Griffin 8:17.79# BU1
Will Griffin 8:20.21# IC4A
Arquimedes DelaCruz 8:22.40# BU1
Adam Vess 8:22.59# BU1
Ken Walshak 8:37.47 MAAC
Ken Walshak 8:37.68 BU1
Conor Shelley 8:38.34 MAAC
Conor Shelley 8:41.84 ARM
Tim Keegan 8:42.04 BU1
Pat Duggan 8:46.11 BU1
Joel Moss 8:46.48 BU2
Conor Shelley 8:48.85 NYU2
Zak Smetana 8:49.75 MAAC
Mike Keegan 8:55.39 MAAC
Mike Keegan 8:55.96 BU1
Brian Townsend 8:55.97 BU2
Zak Smetana 8:58.97 BU1
Isaiah Miller 9:03.67 BU1
Ryan Brown 9:05.70 BU1
Joel Moss 9:10.90 NYU1
Nick Webster 9:12.01 BU1
Brian Townsend 9:18.54 NYU1
Mike Clausen 9:23.56 Yale
Nick Salek 9:33.74 NYU2

5,000-meter run
Arquimedes DelaCruz 14:33.20# IC4A
Ken Walshak 14:37.53# IC4A
Ken Walshak 14:42.74# BU2
Arquimedes DelaCruz 14:43.79# NB
Arquimedes DelaCruz 14:49.84 MAAC
Conor Shelley 14:54.25 BU2
Ken Walshak 15:02.80 NYU2
Tim Keegan 15:03.96 BU2
Tim Keegan 15:14.22 MAAC
Conor Shelley 15:15.11 BU1
Joel Moss 15:19.98 BU1
Pat Duggan 15:20.20 MAAC
Joel Moss 15:20.24 MAAC
Brian Townsend 15:24.57 BU1
Pat Duggan 15:24.85 BU2
Ryan Scrudato 15:26.56 BU1
Zak Smetana 15:27.40 BU2
Ryan Scrudato 15:28.80 BU2
Ryan Scrudato 15:39.94 NYU2
Kevin O’Sullivan 15:45.20 NYU2
Brian Townsend 15:45.51 MAAC
Sam McMullen 15:47.33 BU1
Kevin O’Sullivan 15:47.53 BU1
Ryan Fitzsimons 16:35.46 Yale

60-meter hurdles
Taylor Bombard 9.20* MAAC
Taylor Bombard 9.47 Yale
Taylor Bombard 9.47 BU1
Taylor Bombard 9.50 NYU2
Taylor Bombard 9.69 BU2
Taylor Bombard 10.01 Yale

4x400-meter relay
Marist A 3:27.29 MAAC
Marist A 3:30.04 BU2
Marist A 3:30.40 BU1
Marist A 3:34.16 Yale
Marist B 3:34.74 BU1
Marist B 3:36.27 BU2
Marist B 3:37.96 Yale
Marist A 3:43.79 NYU2
Marist C 3:44.09 Yale

4x800-meter relay
Marist A 8:09.77 NYU2
Marist A 8:27.75 NYU1

DMR
Marist A 10:08.05# NB
Marist A 10:13.56# IC4A
Marist A 10:22.00 MAAC
Marist A 10:51.15 NYU2

Weight throw
Sean Ellman 11.31m BU2
Sean Ellman 11.16m BU1
Sean Ellman 10.52m Yale
Sean Ellman 10.46m NYU1
Sean Ellman 10.46m NYU2

Long jump
Jesse Aprile 6.37m NYU1
Jesse Aprile 6.22m NYU2
Jesse Aprile 6.17m BU1
Jesse Aprile 5.95m BU2
Jesse Aprile 5.79m MAAC
Brian Lochner 5.76m NYU1
Brian Lochner 5.55m NYU2
Brian Lochner 5.40m MAAC
Brian Lochner 5.20m Mets

Triple jump
Jesse Aprile 12.71m NYU1
Jesse Aprile 12.62m BU1
Jesse Aprile 12.27m NYU2
Jesse Aprile 11.62m MAAC

* Converted mark
# IC4A qualifier
Meet name/date
YALE = 12.4.2010
NYU1 = 1.7.2011
NYU2 = 1.14.2011
BU1 = 1.29.2011
Mets = 1.29.2011
NB = 2.4.2011 and 2.5.2011
BU2 = 2.12.2011
MAAC = 2.18.2011
ARM = 2.25.2011
IC4A = 3.5.2011 and 3.6.2011

2011 AAU results

Today, the long-standing (how many years has it been now, Schabby?) tradition of the midterm week AAU Championships at the McCann Center track was continued, with some truly inspirational performances.

For those not in the know, the AAU Championships is a 2x3200-meter workout/race on the 160-meter McCann Track. Typically, we do this workout right before spring break. Not everybody takes part in this workout, and in many cases we only want to see guys do one of the 3,200-meter “intervals.” But today, the majority of the distance guys did take part in the festivities – while others lounged on the high jump mats and shouted "encouragement."

Today, we even had a special guest appearance by Curtis “Batman” Jensen, who helped with the timing and recording of results. Of course, our favorite cell phone prankster FORGOT to record unsung hero Joel Moss’ time. But otherwise, Curt was flawless. I guess.

Traditionally, most guys will wear their cheesiest high school uniforms to add a special atmosphere to the proceedings. In some cases, guys will race as hard as they can in order to achieve longstanding goals. Exhibit A in that category today was Billy “Fresh” Hild, our Spackenkill Spartan Hero, who broke 10:00 for the first time and looked great doing it.

Fifth-year senior Conor Shelley posted what is believed to be an AAU/McCann record for his scintillating double of 9:27 and 9:38 (10-minute recovery jog between races is the usual protocol …). Senior captain Pat Duggan’s 9:35/9:43 double was tremendous as well, as was his throwback Oregon singlet.

Other stars of the day included Zak Smetana, Meegan (“Mike Keegan”), Ryan Brown and Joel Moss – all of whom posted back-to-back sub-10:00s. Freshman Kevin O’Sullivan was close to pulling off that trick. Sophomore Mike Nicoletti had a solid 9:56/10:13 and is having a hard time keeping the “I’m not that fast on the track, bro” reputation of his.

Otherwise, it was good clean fun, as always.

Here are the numbers …

AAU Championships
Thursday, March 10, 2011
McCann Center Track
2x3200 meters, 10 minute recovery

Conor Shelley 9:27/9:38, 19:05
Pat Duggan 9:35/9:43, 19:18
Zak Smetana 9:49/9:50, 19:39
Joel Moss 9:52/9:56, 19:48
Mike Keegan 9:56/9:55, 19:51
Ryan Brown 9:56/9:56, 19:52

Kevin O’Sullivan 9:56/10:05, 20:01
Nick Webster 9:52/10:09, 20:01
Mike Nicoletti 9:56/10:13, 20:09
Brian Townsend 10:03/10:13, 20:16
Will Schanz 10:06/10:21, 20:27
Mike Clausen 10:18/10:16, 20:34
Doug Ainscow 10:28/10:32, 21:00

Andrew James 9:52/DNS
Nick Salek 9:56/DNF
Ben Windisch 9:57/DNF
Billy Hild 9:57/DNF
Chris Reynolds 10:05/DNS
Ryan Scrudato 10:24/DNS
Danny Mendoza 10:27/DNS

Peace Corps future

There are many rewarding aspects of coaching fine young men and women. The obvious rewards are when athletes have great race performances, break records, qualify for big meets or simply show tremendous progress in their training. Those are the tangible results of their fine efforts.

And then there are the subtle and surprising joys that somehow get sprung on you unexpectedly … like last week when I got the very exciting news via text message that graduating senior women’s team captain Jillian Corley was accepted to serve in the Peace Corps, starting later this year. Jillian will be assigned to South Africa and will be there the better part of two years.

To say I am thrilled, proud and awed of Jillian would be an understatement. I was aware that she was going for this application last summer, and I was also aware of how difficult it is to be selected to the Peace Corps these days.

Jill has always been a delightful anomaly among the “typical” college student in that she has a keen interest in current events, the environment and generally the world outside the bubble of the aforementioned “typical” college student’s existence. Knowing that she might be making a small difference and positive impact in the world outside of Marist after graduating … well, it makes this old guy smile.

Mike G shines in 20-miler

Congrats to Marist Running alum and loyal Boston-area supporter Mike Guarascio (Mike G) for his strong run at the Black Cat 20-mile race in Salem, MA. G used the race as a tuneup for the upcoming Boston Marathon.

His plan was to roll at goal marathon pace, but he ended up picking it up as the race went on and finished in an excellent time of 2:03:59 – 6:12 pace. He was sixth overall and third out of 20 in the 20-29 division. Nicely done!

Also, a personal thanks to Mike G for running over to BU on Saturday to support our team during IC4As. He took the brunt of my frustration at the relatively slow pace during Will Griffin’s outstanding effort in the 3,000-meter run.

Best of luck in Boston training, G. Keep running strong.

Women blow away DMR record

Oh, how I wish I could have been in two places at once.

In one of the remarkable performances in Marist Track history, our women’s distance medley relay lopped nearly 11 seconds off the school record and placed ninth overall at the ECAC meet, across town at the Reggie Lewis Center -- around the same time the men were running at BU.

Sunday's time of 11:54.75 eclipsed the previous mark, set way back in 2000, of 12:05.53.

It was one of those rare, magical days when every relay member exceeded expectations. It came together for a truly amazing performance. And the ladies were just a few ticks off a scoring spot.

Here are the numbers …

DMR
9. Marist (Jackie Gamboli, Hayley Harnett, Briana Crowe, Brittany Burns) 11:54.75 *school record, highest relay placement in school history.
Jackie Gamboli, 1200 split: 3:39.0
Hayley Harnett, 400 split: 58.9
Briana Crowe, 800 split: 2:18.6
Brittany Burns, 1600 split: 4:58.0

IC4A Day 2

The final day at the Magic Carpet of Boston University provided two more breakthrough performances in a season littered with them.

Sophomore Quimes DelaCruz lowered his 5km personal best by 10 seconds with a vicious closing kick. The “slow section” on this day went out very, very hard, as you can see. Our boy Q faded a bit in the fourth kilometer, but rallied with a remarkable finish – thanks in part to chasing his teammate, freshman Kenny Walshak.

Speaking of Kenny … what a great run! He followed his usual pattern of going out hard and hanging on for dear life. The result was a five-second PR and a truly gutty effort from the only freshman in the field, who more than proved he belonged with the big boys.

Along the way, Quimes and Kenny moved up on the sub-15:00 list – Quimes is now second individual all-time and Kenny is sixth. Updated list is below.

A great way to end a long but strong indoor season.

OK. Time to shave.

5,000-meter run

14. Arquimedes DelaCruz 14:33.20 (personal best)
34, 68 (34), 1:42 (34), 2:17 (35), 2:52 (35)
3:26 (34), 4:01 (35), 4:36 (35), 5:11 (35), 5:46 (35)
6:21 (35), 6:56 (35), 7:31 (35), 8:06 (35), 8:41 (35)
9:15 (34), 9:52 (37), 10:28 (36), 11:05 (37), 11:41 (36)
12:18 (37), 12:53 (35), 13:29 (36), 14:02 (33), 14:33.20 (31.20)
Kilometer splits: 2:52, 2:54, 2:55, 3:00, 2:52.20

19. Ken Walshak 14:37.53 (personal best)
34, 68 (34), 1:42 (34), 2:17 (35), 2:52 (35)
3:26 (34), 4:01 (35), 4:36 (35), 5:11 (35), 5:46 (35)
6:21 (35), 6:56 (35), 7:31 (35), 8:05 (34), 8:40 (35)
9:15 (35), 9:51 (36), 10:26 (35), 11:03 (37), 11:39 (36)
12:15 (36), 12:51 (36), 13:27 (36), 14:02 (35), 14:37.53 (35.53)
Kilometer splits: 2:52, 2:54, 2:54, 2:59, 2:58.53

5km all-time list

Girma Segni, 14:18.42, 2009*
Arquimedes DelaCruz, 14:33.20, 2011
Adam Vess, 14:33.41, 2008
Peter Pazik, 14:35.84, 1986
Matt Flint, 14:37.45, 2010
Ken Walshak, 14:37.53, 2011
Michael Melfi, 14:42.36, 1998
Justin Harris, 14:42.88, 2007
David Raucci, 14:42.92, 2006
Michael Nehr, 14:45.61, 2001
Will Griffin, 14:47.86, 2010
David Swift, 14:50.24, 1995
Kirk Dornton, 14:50.89, 2002
Nick Webster, 14:52.54, 2009
Conor Shelley, 14:52.67, 2008
Greg Salamone, 14:55.79, 2000
Tim Keegan, 14:56.45, 2009

*holds both indoor (14:18.42) and outdoor (14:32.65) school records for the distance
Bold indicates current team member

IC4A Day 1

3,000-meter run: 11th place of 33 runners

Will Griffin 8:20.21
34.3, 68.9 (34.6), 1:43.3 (34.4), 2:17.5 (34.2), 2:50.5 (33.0)
3:24.7 (34.2), 3:58.3 (33.6), 4:31.1 (32.8), 5:04.1 (33.0), 5:37.1 (33.0)
6:11.1 (34.0), 6:43.8 (32.7), 7:15.4 (31.6), 7:48.2 (32.8), 8:20.21 (32.01)
Kilometer splits: 2:50.5, 2:46.6, 2:43.21

Post-race analysis from the hotel room:

This one falls into the “be careful what you wish for” category. As I was discussing with Marist Running alum Mike G during the race, our runners have progressed to the point where we don’t just want to qualify for IC4As but rather qualify fast enough to be in the faster section of distance races. So when Will Griffin ran his 8:17 back in January at the BU Terrier meet, we were satisfied that time would be enough to get him in the “hot heat” at ICs.

And it was!

But wait!

The hot heat … well, it wasn’t so hot.

Check out those early lap splits. Putrid. It wasn’t Will’s fault. No one would take the pace. Will actually took the lead early in the race. No one wanted to move. A tactical race, a personal pet peeve. Especially since the first, supposedly slower, heat was pretty quick. And as it turned out, two runners from the “slow heat” scored on this day.

Will did the best he could. He really did. Look at that impressive stepdown progression in his kilometer splits. Really solid stuff. But going through the early laps and the first 1600 meters at a rather pedestrian 4:31.1 robbed Will of the ability to go sub-8:15, which we felt he was ready to do. Ah, well. It’s a missed opportunity, through no fault of his own.

Will had a great indoor track season and he should be proud of his efforts. I know I am. Nicely done.

DMR: 22nd place of 25 teams

10:13.56
Ben Windisch, 1200 in 3:06.4
31, 62 (31), 1:32 (30), 2:03 (31), 2:35 (32), 3:06.4 (31.4)
John Kristie, 400 in 52.2
Kyle Havard, 800 in 1:57.7
27, 57 (30), 1:27 (30), 1:57.7 (30.7)
Billy Posch, 1600 in 4:17.1
31, 64 (33), 1:36 (32), 2:08 (32), 2:40 (32), 3:12 (32), 3:45 (33), 4:17.1 (32.1)

Post-race analysis from the hotel room:

Over morning coffee with Coach Horton, I analyzed this race. I figured if we could run around 10:15 or faster, we could have a good day. Here were my estimated/goal splits for our athletes: Windisch 3:06 (check); Kristie 51-point (close enough); Havard 1:57-point (check); Posch sub-4:20 (check). So on paper, it was a successful relay. But there is more to this story.

Freshman Ben Windisch ran a great leg, about as fast as we could have hoped. And yet … he handed off in dead last and out of the race. It was a great effort, but we were in a buzzsaw section with much faster teams.

Which makes the middle legs by senior John Kristie and junior Kyle Havard all the more impressive. The boys were truly in no-man’s land, and still raced tough and hit their splits. By the time Kyle handed off to Billy, Billy had the Fordham anchor leg within sight, which gave him something to run for. And as you see, he had himself a nice, PR-effort leg to cap off the relay

So overall, a good relay effort from top to bottom.

Sunday in Boston will consist of the women’s DMR at ECACs/Reggie Lewis Center at 1 p.m., and the men’s 5,000 back at BU with Quimes DelaCruz and Kenny Walshak at 1:40 p.m. I will update with results, splits and comments upon arrival back in Poughkeepsie.

Spring

Just got back from jogging in Newton, MA, where we are staying for the IC4As.

Last time I was here, three weeks ago, the roads still had a tiny sheen of ice on them. My out-and-back loop took 50 minutes. It is significantly warmer today. The snow banks are still there, but the ice has melted. I got to the turnaround point in 20 minutes instead of 25 minutes. So that is good. Less slipping.

And last night in the hotel room with Coach Horton, we watched a spring training game -- Yankees vs. Red Sox.

Spring is on the way!

Not here yet. But close.

Meet updates later ...

The smart way

There’s a track team in the Northeast that for years has sported warm-up tops with the saying “The Smart Way” on the jackets. Pretty cool, and pretty unique.

I was thinking of this Tuesday afternoon as I watched two large groups of men’s distance runners going through threshold mile repeats on the fancy McCann Center 160-meter oval. I wasn’t timing each of their intervals because there were several other groups working out (I’m not great at multi-task timing). But a few quick checks indicated that – miracle of miracles – our men were hitting their splits.

I say “miracle of miracles” because through the years I have found it very difficult – almost impossible, really – to get men’s distance runners to buy into and accurately execute threshold (tempo) pace. Guys are competitive and sometimes irrational in workouts. This leads to racing each other, which leads to faster-than-protocol pace, which leads to not threshold, which leads to an annoyed coach wanting to throw his clipboard down in frustration.

Which leads to another funny story, not directly related to threshold workouts: During our indoor track practices, we often are running circles around the men’s basketball team practice. Often during intervals, I find myself yelling out things like “relax” or “chill out” or “slow it down a bit.”

SLOW DOWN. A track coach saying SLOW DOWN. This has caught the attention of men’s assistant basketball coach Paul Lee, a really good guy. Paul often comes up to me during the day and says, “Hey Pete, you gonna tell your guys to slow down again today?” Ha!

It is a bit unorthodox. Kind of like threshold running. It seems unnatural. That’s exactly what middle distance runner Andrew James (AJ) said yesterday. It probably seemed REALLY unnatural for AJ, since he has been ripping out fast interval workouts for the past few months. It’s kind of like taking a car in overdrive at 55 miles per hour and downshifting it to third gear. Or something like that.

But it works. It is the Smart Way. On Tuesday, I was feeling really good about the boys, who seemed to embrace the Smart Way for this day.

Until the last interval, when one of the groups decided to “kick it in” and finish the workout with a flourish. Which is totally not the point! But what the heck, I like the spirit. And they did MOST of the workout the Smart Way.

And, as you know: Boys will be boys.

The poll is closed

Thank you all for voting – and in Schab’s case, trying unsuccessfully to stuff the ballot – in the recent poll question regarding practice time.

At this point, I will use the Chicago Mayoral Election Rule in this practice time decision debate. That election rule was that the candidate needed to secure 50 percent + 1 vote in order to win the election. It was a hotly contested race with several candidates, but former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel came out on top.

But really. No one in this blogosphere cares about the next mayor of Chicago, right?

Here’s the nut graph: We will stick with the status quo for practice time in the fall. That means we’ll still be practicing at 2 p.m. each day, except Wednesday will remain at 11 a.m.

In other words, the same thing we have been doing, more or less, for 20-plus years.

Using that Chicago rule, it was REALLY CLOSE. Out of 111 votes, 55 were for the new practice time (49.5 percent). That's just a few ticks shy of what was needed. Not that I was using the poll as the be-all and end-all.

Team members be warned: This practice time debate is not finished. I am seriously considering the early practice time for the men’s team next spring semester. Some of our McCann indoor practices – when the men’s and women’s distance teams have been working out at the same time and the same day – have been like a three-ring circus. Splitting practice times for the indoor season might be the way to go, for better quality practices and for the safety of our athletes.

But that’s a debate, and a poll, for another day. Schabby, sorry to disappoint you. Heck, I know if you had your way back in the day, we would go at 6 a.m. every day. Works for me too.

But for now, we will still run in the afternoon most days.

T-shirts are here. Finally.

Note to alumni fundraising donors from last summer and fall: The coveted Marist Track T-shirts are here! Sorry for the delay.

If you donated, expect one in the mail soon. If you have a size request, please email me immediately at runhed246@hotmail.com or call me at 845 309 3640, and I will do my best to accommodate you.

And of course: Thank you for your continued support of Marist Track and Cross Country.

Farewell to February

Welcome, friends in the blogosphere, to March. The venerable third month of the year could not come sooner.

Let’s put it this way: I’m not a big fan of February. Never have been. The reasons are many.

For one, the weather’s usually not great. And by February, we’ve pretty much had enough of winter. The novelty of snowstorms, snow closings and delays, etc., has long since worn off. The long days without a lot of daylight are going on four months by the time good old February rolls around.

There are two contrived “holidays” in the month – one revolving around a furry creature looking for his shadow, the other centered around flowers and chocolate and greeting cards. Ugh. Sure, there is the well-deserved Presidents Day, honoring the birthdays of great American presidents (and Schanz).

And yes, there are great track meets too. But there is also this old coach’s least favorite conference championship meet of the three-season cycle to endure, too.

So yeah. Goodbye February.

Hello March, where the days are getting longer by 2 to 3 minutes of extra daylight each and every day. Where the snow will melt rapidly and we may actually get to practice at an outdoor track near here sometime soon. Where outdoor season (yes, OUTDOORS) starts in a mere few weeks.

Time marches on. And I’m sure glad.